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Strong Bad: Rep. Stacey Campfield Thrown Out Of UT Game For Wearing Mexican Wrestling Mask

By Kleinheider Posted on November 10, 2009 at 7:01 am

You can’t buy this kind of publicity:

According to the report, the officer asked Campfield why he had not said he was going to his correct seat, and he said again, “I told you I was walking around. Is it illegal to walk around?”

“After five or six attempts at explaining this to him, I told the man I was not going to play word … games with him,” the officer wrote. “He had violated the mask policy, was in the wrong section and was being argumentative and uncooperative.”

According to the narrative, McReynolds asked for the man’s identification, wrote his Tennessee driver’s license number on his ticket and, along with another officer, escorted him from the stadium.

“While walking to the exit, he kept repeating over and over that he was just walking around and when did it become illegal to walk around,” McReynolds wrote. “The man never became violent, and neither myself nor (the other officer) touched the man.”

When the officers returned to the stadium, McReynolds contacted a UTPD dispatcher and asked to have the man’s driver’s license run.

“It was then I learned his identity,” McReynolds wrote.

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Comments

35 Responses to “Strong Bad: Rep. Stacey Campfield Thrown Out Of UT Game For Wearing Mexican Wrestling Mask”

  1. Dave writes
    November 10th, 2009 8:23 am

    I smelled what the Camp is cooking and I think it is rotten.

  2. autoegocrat writes
    November 10th, 2009 8:37 am

    If I were him, I wouldn’t want to show my face in public, either.

  3. GoldnI writes
    November 10th, 2009 8:58 am

    I hear Lane Kiffin is now blaming this entire incident on Urban Meyer and the refs.

  4. Loveforsale writes
    November 10th, 2009 9:00 am

    The guy is unhinged. Just sayin.

  5. Josh writes
    November 10th, 2009 9:01 am

    I don’t understand why he was removed… He was just walking around and the cop didn’t like it.

  6. Frank writes
    November 10th, 2009 9:29 am

    Typical “Tough-Guy” cop with a chip on his shoulder. I would hope that the next time a UT lobbyist stops by Camp’s office, this officers career is terminated. If he can’t deal with a smart ass legislator, how can he be expected to deal with smart ass students? Just another Dont-taze-me-bro waiting to happen.

  7. cousin libre writes
    November 10th, 2009 9:50 am

    senator libre…nacho libre

  8. GoldnI writes
    November 10th, 2009 9:53 am

    I’m not saying that I believe Stacey Campfield is an illegal alien from Mexico, but those questions are out there and he’s not helping himself by wearing a luchador mask in public. But he could make this whole controversy go away by releasing his birth certificate. What is he trying to hide?

  9. Over blown writes
    November 10th, 2009 10:15 am

    Seems to me that he’s just an average guy trying to be in the Halloween spirit. I was at Neyland that game and didn’t know about the ban on masks either. He complied fully and is simply guilty of frustration.

    NEWSFLASH: Legislators are humans and are subject to human emotions.

    I’m fine with the News Sentinel or others criticizing his actions as a legislator, but this just seems a little silly.

  10. pat csh writes
    November 10th, 2009 10:43 am

    My 2 cents worth is this ,UT has a no mask policy and he was ignoring it. The Tix’s we purchase for games are for certain seats in certain sections and since 9-11-01 schools and stadiums have been on high alert. If Campfield had pulled this at a Titans game the out come would’ve been the same.As a season tix holder for the Titans, I’ve seen many people escorted out of my section for trying to take over a seat and we’re right behind the Home Team.

    This isn’t the first time that Campfield has pulled a mask event . This man is one loose nutcase setting in an offce that he should’nt be in. The Regents online school didn’t taught him a thing!He was also given a time limit to clean up rental properties…..

  11. Davy writes
    November 10th, 2009 10:43 am

    Damn wonder he wasn’t shot by some HCPer thinkin’ the Rep was a “turrist.”

    Not wanting to help the Rep, but all of this does seem blown out of proportion a bit.

    I’m not so worried about people wearing Halloween masks as I am about all those people who get in their cars after leaving behind all those airline size empty liquor bottles in the stands.

    Drunk drivers are SCARY!

  12. JohnnyC writes
    November 10th, 2009 10:56 am

    Is officer “Dana McReynolds” a woman? Is that why this state official didn’t treat authority with respect?

  13. Smokey says writes
    November 10th, 2009 11:39 am

    Sounds like “the Rep” may have been following the time honored tradition of having a little Halloween hooch before the game and couldn’t follow the rules & control himself. It all seems a little silly, but if no masks was the rule you would think he would want to follow them. Unless he is one of these big shots that thinks the rules are for the little people and he doesn’t have to follow them. I mean, why should he have to sit in his assigned seat? Why shouldn’t he get to wear a mask? He is important.

  14. Tony Gottlieb writes
    November 10th, 2009 11:48 am

    Kudos Rep. Campfield.
    It is terrific to have a State Legislator who can discern right from wrong, regardless of who is administering it.

  15. dontcallmemikey writes
    November 10th, 2009 11:55 am

    Symptomatic of the GOP in the main - selfish, rules-don’t-apply-to-me, just to others. Tough on lawbreakers; tougher on law enforcement when it harsh their own personal mellow.

  16. Over blown writes
    November 10th, 2009 12:18 pm

    Smokey,

    Unlike most lawmakers Stacey doesn’t drink, ever.

    It’s hilarious that people are trying to paint him as some elitist when he has tickets in LL and is wearing a mask to a game. Sounds like a normal guy to me, not some high and mighty person watching the game from their box.

    The elitist sounds like Ledbetter, who scheduled a meeting with the chief of police over something as silly as this. Who does he think he is taking up the time of the police chief to ask if his opponent was wearing a mask? Sounds like the UT establishment has their candidate picked. It will be up to the people to vote for the average guy over the high and mighty banner carrier for the UT elite.

    Who’s interests will Ledbetter serve, the people of his district or the UT machine and Democrats that will try to put him there?

  17. Trent Seibert writes
    November 10th, 2009 12:54 pm

    LOVE the Homestar Runner reference!

  18. Davy writes
    November 10th, 2009 12:56 pm

    “Who’s interests will Ledbetter serve, the people of his district or the UT machine and Democrats that will try to put him there?”

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Yeah, Campfield’s been in office six years and has only gotten TWO bills passed, and you think Campfield serves his district????

    HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

    Campfield serves the right wing special interest groups and his own ambitions.

    That’s it.

  19. Davy writes
    November 10th, 2009 1:00 pm

    “Democrats that will try to put him there?”

    Besides genius, there’s already a Democrat in that senate race: Randy Walker.

    And he’ll likely have company in the Dem primary.

    You at least ought to know a little bit about what you’re talking about.

  20. common sense writes
    November 10th, 2009 1:12 pm

    well come on, Davy - Campfield does represent the part of his district that is totally bats*** crazy and has absolutely know clue about how government works.

  21. Over blown writes
    November 10th, 2009 1:18 pm

    I know about democrats who worked polls, etc. for his last campaign.

    A lawmaker should not be judged solely on the number of bills they pass, but also on the number of bad bills they prevent. His voting record falls in line with the ideals of the people of his district. Remember, this is the first session that most any conservative legislation has been passed.

  22. Over blown writes
    November 10th, 2009 1:21 pm

    I wouldn’t want Jimmy Duncan voting for the healthcare bill just so he could say he passed something. He rarely passes legislation, but many in Knox county and throughout the country consider him to be one of the best congressmen.

  23. black community writes
    November 10th, 2009 3:27 pm

    Jimmy Duncan?! haha. “One of the BEST Congressmen!” lol

  24. You Knew It Was Coming : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee writes
    November 10th, 2009 3:32 pm

    [...] Jimmy… [...]

  25. Matthew Hurtt writes
    November 10th, 2009 3:46 pm

    This is such a non-story.

  26. Elmer Gantry writes
    November 10th, 2009 4:32 pm

    Did the masked Rep. Campfield follow these little girls into Section B of Neyland Stadium…?

    What was Campfield doing in Section B when he had clearly purchased a ticket for Section LL…?

  27. dontcallmemikey writes
    November 10th, 2009 5:04 pm

    A lawMAKER should be judged by the respect he accords THE LAW. He showed disrespect to a uniformed officer in the exercise of his duties, showed a disrespect of the law in general, and did so in public.
    No, he shouldn’t be removed from office, but the public has a right to know the man who’s gonna ask for their votes as a LAWmaker has little to no respect for the law or those who put their butts on the line to enforce it.

  28. Adrienne writes
    November 10th, 2009 9:54 pm

    @pat csh Yes, Stacey is technically in the wrong for not sitting in his purchased seats, but it’s not a big deal at UT.

    As an alum and a student, I don’t know if I’ve ever actually sat in my ticketed seat unless it was for an attendance-breaking game or Florida. Except for the sky boxes, I’ve never seen an usher check tickets. Since the last few years have been particularly rough ones for the Vols, seating policies have been much more lax. When the stadium holds 107,000 and only 97,000 show up, not a big deal.

    @Smokey says Over blown is absolutely write. Stacey does many interesting things to say the least, but he doesn’t drink alcohol at all. As a former UT CR, I occasionally hung out with him. Even when everyone else was drinking (we were all over 21), Stacey was a teetotaler.

  29. Donna Locke writes
    November 10th, 2009 10:59 pm

    Seems pretty heavy-handed on the part of the officers.

  30. John Lamb writes
    November 10th, 2009 11:33 pm

    Reminds me of the Mack/Kleinheider smoke break:

    “It just occured to me that what happened to me and Kleinrocket is an almost perfect metaphor for the immigration debate. See, we stepped out a side door to smoke, and a woman barged through the door and it closed behind us, locking us out of the building. After a minute, another guy opened it, and Kleinrocket asked him to leave it propped open for us. The guy actually refused, saying he just couldn’t break the rules. We would have to walk all the way around the building, and go back through security once again, even if there was this incredibly long line. (rule of law, buddy) Kleinrocket was clearly not interested in this. Finally, another guy opened the door, and we sneaked in and became illegal aliens in the process. The irony is just too delicious. Si, Se Puede! My brother….”

    http://coyotechronicles.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/78/

  31. Over blown writes
    November 11th, 2009 2:27 am

    Please,

    What law did Stacey break? He complied fully with the police and was not charged with anything. He’s guilty of not knowing the mask rule, which I myself didn’t know about and I’m sure many others.

  32. Mack writes
    November 11th, 2009 3:05 am

    Seems to me, whether or not this is a story pretty much depends on which side of the political aisle one comes from. I have had Vandy tickets, and you can bet if there were unoccupied seats with a better view, I’d move in a heartbeat. I also tend to side with people over cops, especially rent-a-cops. i don’t like Campfield’s politics, or his style, but he wasn’t robbing the joint, for crying out loud. No need to tie people up in meetings over him being stubborn.

  33. Elmer Gantry writes
    November 11th, 2009 9:33 pm

    Campfield was stealing the services of the UT Athletic Department/UT Volunteer football team by his purchasing the much less expensive Section LL tickets and then slumming down into Section B and terrifying those poor little girls whose mother had spent any where from $75 to $129 per seat to keep her family away from the likes of Campfield!

  34. Elmer Gantry writes
    November 11th, 2009 9:34 pm

    And that is why Campfield did not return back to Section B…!

  35. Donna Locke writes
    November 11th, 2009 10:41 pm

    I’ve now had a chance to discuss this incident with my husband, a Vols season- ticket holder for decades since he was a UT student. My husband and two of his friends since college have spent a lot of time in that stadium.

    My husband laughed at that mask prohibition, saying many fans have worn wigs and painted their faces for as long as he’s been going to the games. He also laughed about the seat switch. My husband has had the same seat in the stadium for decades, but if there are better, vacant, seats, he said he and his friends and many other fans regularly move. Nobody cares, he said.

    I think the UT police have done Stacey a major disservice. The more I think about it, the more sure I am of that. This incident was deliberately turned into a political football (sorry). The police and the university owe Campfield an apology.

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